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Tuesday, 16 September 2014

Making real changes to people's lives

One of the
reasons Councillors stand for election is to make a difference to peoples’
lives – certainly one of the main reasons for me, which is I’m proud that in
just two years we in West Sussex have got the lives of more than 750 families
back on track, so really making a difference.

Equally I’m
really proud too that we have helped 400 long-term unemployed off benefits and
back into work.

In West
Sussex we’re making the government’s welfare reforms a reality, intervening to
help those families most in need.

The West Sussex Think Family Partnership is our version
of the government’s Troubled Families initiative.

Under this programmer we are the leading authority for
getting people back in employment.

We believe that while much of the
good work goes on below the radar, the Think Family initiative is a real
success story. We all know the value of a hand up far exceeds that of a hand
out.

That’s why we’re delighted the government is going ahead
with phase two, and we can continue our work and commitment to turn around more
West Sussex lives.

So who do we help, and how?

Our Think
Family scheme works with families in debt, with drug or alcohol problems, with
mental or physical health concerns.

In some
cases there might be a history of domestic violence. The children might not be
attending school or could be getting into trouble. The whole family could be in
danger of being evicted.

Of course
in many instances we have known who these families are for years – they’re not
new to us and in some cases it is generation after generation – but, for
a variety of reasons, despite various initiatives nobody has really managed to
work with them successfully.

But by
coordinated work with partners, building trust, and with a major amount of
persistence, Think Family is succeeding in convincing them how much better
their lives will be if they help us to help them.

The first
step involves a dedicated keyworker – like family nurses for example - creating
a plan both for the family as a whole and for individual family members.
Although the process is consensual there’s absolutely a no-nonsense approach.
The good news is that very few families decide not to stick with it.

The
families then have dedicated help for between 9 and 18 months (depending on the
level of need), working through their often complex problems.

It works
because it is tailored; because it is targeted. It also works because we are joining
up the public sector. So instead of our families receiving help from lots of
different sources, they receive the full support they need through someone
dedicated to their care and wellbeing.

We have
also joined forces with those working to place people in employment, with Job
Centre Plus and also with the private sector and our local colleges to link our
families to opportunities in the job market.

Yes, we may
have got hundreds back in paid work, but we’re certainly not resting on our
laurels. We know that changes take time, and we are certainly in this for the
long haul.

One
generation has learnt the behaviour of another, and possibly the one before
that as well. It is about breaking this cycle.

What we’ve
done is build a strong and sustainable team that can stick with these families
for as long as it takes.

That’s why
I’m really delighted by not only of our achievements to date, but also that we
have been chosen to be among the first local authorities in line for the second
phase of funding.

Over the
coming months we will start to expand our Think Family programme to take on a
further 600 West Sussex families.

Through our
commitment and investment in the Think Family project we are making real
changes to people’s lives helping them to independence and self-reliance and
more. For anyone who wants to make a difference this is a very real example –
and we continue.